Saturday, January 28, 2012

Reminiscing Bohol...

One of the perks I have since moving to Cebu is to be near to Bohol. It's just 1-3 hours ferry from Cebu City depending on which part of Bohol you intend to go and if you're going to ride a fast craft or even a slow one. So far, in my 7 years of stay here (since June 2004) I've been to Bohol around five times. A trip with my cousins whose visiting from Manila and US in March 2006, with my team when I was a Team Lead for our teambuilding in May 2006,with my family and some guests from Bulacan in May 2007, with my BFs Ghie and Jona - October 2007 and with Honey in June 2008. But I feel that I still haven't had enough of the beauty of Bohol and I haven't fully explored it yet.

For those of you who are not familiar with Bohol, it is the home of the famous Chocolate Hills, the Philippine Tarsier which is one of the smallest primates in the world and, of course, their white sand beaches!

When going to Bohol, we usually have a countryside tour first and then stay in a resort for at least 3 days and 2 nights. If you're in a hurry, you can do the basic countryside tour in a day! Can you believe it?! That's how small Bohol is! With a land area of 4,117.26 square kilometers. Kung baga, small but terrible! ^_^ And so far, only in Bohol did I see consistently smooth major roads. Maybe because there are also not a lot of vehicles passing by so maintenance is not that expensive. And also because of that, the air is still fresh! Such a great break from the busy and polluted City!

A map of Bohol at the resort where me and my BFs Ghie and Jon stayed

The last time I've been to Bohol was back in 2008, so I guess I should go back to Bohol soon, this time with Gabriel. And maybe back again when he's bigger so he can appreciate the historical places more and wonders of nature that Bohol has to offer. ;)

Most of the time, we take a fast craft from Cebu pier 1 to Tagbilaran port which takes about 3 hours. Since I last visited, it doesn't matter if you book a tour prior to going there because once you arrive, there are a lot of drivers offering their service at a reasonable price. Just try to be smart in hiring them. :) Pero mababait naman ang mga Boholanos. ;) Usually, if you're 4 pax or less, you can rent a car for Php2000.00 for your entire Bohol countryside tour (or for 8 hours). They can also drop you off at your hotel or resort (they might ask for additional Php500 though if your resort is in Panglao Island). If you're renting a van, usually the rate is Php2500 to Php3000. This doesn't include entrances and lunch for your Loboc River cruise. Just be nice and treat your driver to lunch as well ha? :) Also, please give a "thank you" tip if you're happy with the service. ;)

With Ghie -- checking in at the Cebu pier 1

With the Callmasters team on our way to Bohol (camwhoring inside the fast craft =p)

Bohol Countryside Tour

* Sagbayan Peak (in the town of Sagbayan =p)It has a view-deck where you can have a 360-degree perspective view of the Chocolate Hills plus the distant blue sea separating Bohol from Cebu. Entrance fee when we went there was Php10 pesos. I'm not sure if they already raised prices with the inflation and all. =P

* Man-made Forest (Bilar)Thousands of mahogany trees planted by locals decades ago (or was it century already?) are found in Bilar's Man-Made Forest. I really find this fact amazing...I hope we could do this to our degrading forests. Maybe decades or centuries from now, our apo's (grandchildren) will benefit from it. :)

Goofing in the middle of the road..It's more fun in Bohol! (",)

A year after...

With my BFs...and my awkward pose! =p

And since I've been so talkative and already took too much time for this post with some interruptions like sleeping, eating and playing with Gabriel, plus I still have to go back to sleep since I have work tonight. And considering that I have a lot of pictures that I want to share with you, there will be two parts for my Bohol post (or maybe 3?). Sorry, friends! Please watch out for the next one(s). ;)

7 comments:

Oh no! This post really made me cry. I've been very nostalgic lately and just this morning I asked the husband if we can go visit home, and that is Bohol. I am 100% Boholana. When you go back in the island, please enjoy it for me. :`(